‘Improvements’ to trail will put children at risk
IN MARCH 2020, Cardiff council held a public consultation regarding the Taff Trail improvements in
Hailey Park, between Bridge Road and Ty Mawr Road. Through lockdown, as expected, things seem to have gone quiet, but now we’ve heard the plans have been agreed – with work to commence late summer.
The existing path through Hailey Park is formally shared by pedestrians and cyclists as it has been for many years.
As I am a child minder I frequent the park on a twice-daily basis, I’m also a resident of Mary Street and I strongly oppose these plans.
Children want to be able to run free when entering and exiting their playground, not dodge cyclists. We feel if these plans go ahead it is just an accident waiting to happen. In addition, dog owners often congregate along the railings while their children play and park users picnic on the grassy area outside, and the proposed scheme will adversely affect this.
Cycling has become ever more popular during lockdown, it’s so busy with cyclists on the trail. I question why the council would want to move this traffic nearer the play areas? This play area will no longer be a safe place for the children.
Also residents of Mary Street use the space opposite their homes – I use it with the children in my care – my neighbours use this space to socialise. It’s safe and away from traffic of any sorts. The council is planning on re-routing the cycle path to run opposite our homes and through the open space we currently use, with no regard to the effect this will have on residents.
We have a wheelchair- bound resident on our street whose only way of enjoying fresh air is on the green space opposite her home. This pleasure will be taken away from her.
During the warmer months, families picnic on the embankment, all these pleasures will be taken away.
We have an online petition on our local fb pages, and now more and more people are becoming aware of the plans, they’re opposing them. Go to http://chng.it/ x49kG4yV
Belinda Lawrie Llandaff North, Cardiff
Why do we pay for this poor service?
WHEN will our rubbish be collected properly? Yet again we have had another non collection thanks to the Waste(ful) Management Department of Cardiff council and our green bins remain full.
As our collection day was changed to Friday under the wonderful reorganisation (not), due to the absence of a collection on April 9, we were told these bins would be emptied on Saturday, April 10, and guess what happened? Yes, you guessed correctly, it has been re-scheduled for a second time to Tuesday, April 12. I won’t hold my breath waiting for that. If things continue like this by next Friday they will need to collect the black bins as well. Our road will look like an annexe to Lamby Way very soon at this rate.
How can rubbish be collected on a Saturday when the council website states that collections are done on four days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays? Weekends and Mondays are not collection days.
Why does the council keep saying the new scheme is working well? Also they keep bleating on about staff on sick leave and shielding due to the pandemic. The elephant in the room here is why it was decided to introduce such radical changes in the middle of a global pandemic. In addition to this I don’t believe the majority of staff are absent with
Covid-related sickness and shielding officially ended on March 31. Are the employees in this department so incapacitated that it has decimated their numbers so badly that by Friday there is no-one available to empty the bins?
Why doesn’t someone make a decision to take on temporary staff to fill the gaps until the chronically sick return to duty? After all, it’s only public money involved here and the way it is spent and lavished on salaries and pensions for the bigwigs in County Hall it doesn’t matter. Also it has to be remembered that under this scheme there are “contingency crews” working until 10pm four days a week. How much is that costing? Never mind, next year they can re-fill the coffers with another inflationbusting rise in the council tax.
Another week in Cardiff and another shambles, what a way to run a capital city. And don’t forget we are paying for this non service, why? Mrs Sian Davies
Roath Park, Cardiff
Children want to be able to run free when entering and exiting their playground, not dodge cyclists...
Belinda Lawrie Llandaff North
Site needs World Heritage status
YOUR article “Top athletes set to train at proposed snow centre” (Echo, April 9) only gives one side of the story. Rhydycar West is unique and needs World Heritage status, not some scheme that will destroy the heritage. It must surely rank of similar importance and magnitude alongside the Gwynedd Slate Landscape and the Blaenafon Ironworks World Heritage Sites.
There are 483 archaeological artefacts on site, relevant to Merthyr Tydfil’s development as the largest town in Wales in the 19th century and rightly known as the Crucible of the Industrial Revolution.
The site is the largest and most complete remaining area of the Cyfarthfa mineral lease within Merthyr Tydfil’s Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest. Evidence has been previously supplied by the then Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) making the case in the strongest terms of compliance within the
Senedd’s objectives for conserving the historic environment. Furthermore, the CCW in line with the Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest and in pursuit of its aims, promoted the use of the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the land use planning and development process. This register is a material consideration in the planning process. It contains evidence for pre-20th century iron and coal working, and related transport and water management associated with the world-famous Cyfarthfa ironwortks.
The area is of extreme environmental importance with a nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Site of Interest for Nature Conservation (SINC).
I can see no difference in this application to those previous applications submitted through the years. Any construction would surely come in contact with the coal reserves and since the Government says that such a mineral resource is of national importance and cannot be built on thus sterilising any coal present, this raises the contentious issue of opencast coal mining and the various impacts on the environment and society. So any construction work will come into conflict with the wide spectrum of habitats and wildlife as
well as other aspects of the site’s heritage.
If the applicant Marvel Limited states no opencast mining will take place where will the development be on Rhydycar West since there is a sizeable coal seam running through the area into the mountain and over into the Aberdare valley?
Has the landowner carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment? If so what are the results? Have surveys been done to see what wildlife species are present in the area? Would the landowner be prepared for an independent survey/s to be carried out to assess what wildlife is present? What mitigation measures have this proposal to cover these issues?
With the present crises of global warming and climate change it has to be recognised that the area is a massive source of carbon and any release of this along with carbon dioxide will be detrimental to combating these issues.
Rhydycar West is heritage. For it to endure, enhance and enrich our community it has to have World Heritage status and everything on it to be protected and conserved for future generations. Brian Thomas Merthyr Tydfil
The small print: Letters will not be included unless you include your name, full postal address and daytime telephone number (we prefer to use names of letter writers but you can ask for your name not to be published if you have a good reason). The Editor reserves the right to edit all letters.